1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device consisting of two containers for holding freight, the containers being connected to each other by at least two connecting elements and sealed off against the environment in the area where they are connected by at least one sealing element, wherein each container has a closable access opening at the end which faces the other container.
2. Description of the Related Art
So-called 20-foot containers and 40-foot containers are often used for the transport of freight. The containers are transported on land, on the sea, and in the air. The requirements on container size applicable in a specific case differ considerably from one transfer point to another. It happens frequently that small containers are required in one transport direction and large containers in the opposite transport direction. As a result, it is often necessary to transport empty containers back in the opposite direction to their point of origin.
To avoid the need to transport empty containers back to where they came from, it has already been proposed in DE 43 29 355 that smaller containers be designed so that they can be connected to each other. This means that the smaller containers can either be used individually or combined with each other to form larger containers.
The principle of connecting containers together, according to which two 20-foot containers can be connected to form a 40-foot container, has thus already been described in DE 43 29 355. These previously described basic possibilities of connecting containers together, however, are not yet able to provide a sufficiently low-cost, easy-to-handle, and yet sturdy design which can withstand the transport loads to which containers are subject.